Police recover $7 million worth of Nike sneakers in Torrance shoe bust

Los Angeles police recovered millions of dollars worth of stolen shoes stashed away in a warehouse yesterday. 

Detectives first learned about this case after receiving a report of several cargo containers being stolen from trucks near the Port of Los Angeles. Investigators tracked the sneakers to Torrance and served a search warrant for the warehouse. 

In total, officers seized $7 million worth of Nike sneakers. The Los Angeles Police Department said the sneakers were the only items found in the raid and no arrests have been made. Officers have several people of interest they are trying to locate 

The thefts did not surprise the employees at Coolkicks on Melrose Avenue. the store specializes in limited-release Nike Jordans, which are always in high demand and worth a lot of money. 

"We have shoes in here that start at $150, we have shoes in here that go for $15,000 to $20,000," said Frank Garriola, an employee at Coolkicks. 

He added that the prices of the sneakers skyrocket for a number of factors.

"How limited they are, they sell out in second online and in stores. And people, there's like a hype for them," he said. "Just the collaboration and who's designing it and the model of the sneaker too."

Garriola said that the second-hand market for these sneakers is huge.

"They would probably try to sell them to stores like us or even online," he said. "There's a bunch of places they can sell the sneakers, they try to get rid of them as fast as they can."